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Chennai Lit Fest is back with its second edition

By
The Commune
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The Chennai Lit Fest which had made its debut in 2021 is back with its second edition this year featuring personalities from the literary world of Tamil Nadu.

The lit fest is anchored around the theme of celebrating ‘75 years of Indian independence’, in order to highlight the contributions of the Tamil region in the Indian freedom struggle.

The fest being held from March 26 – 27, will happen simultaneously in both Tamil and English with separate speakers for both the segments. 

The fest will be inaugurated on March 26 by BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai who will deliver the inaugural address. 

The speakers for the English segment includes author and TV panelist Ratan Sharda, JNU Professor Anand Ranganathan, retired Under Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs RVS Mani, Dr. Janaki Raman and MR Venkatesh. 

Editor of Swarajya magazine R. Jagannathan, prominent television actor Mohan Raman, Mrs. Vijita Singh Aggarwal of IP University, Ms. Neena Rai and Sai Swaroopa Iyer are other speakers for the English segment. 

The speakers for the Tamil segment includes Sahitya Academy Award winning Joe D’ Cruz, YouTuber Maridhas and journalist Rangaraj Pandey among others. 

The lit fest is organized by Indoi Analytics, a knowledge movement that seeks to unite persons striving towards Indian interests.

In March 2021, Indoi Analytics had launched the Chennai Lit Fest featuring speakers outstanding Tamil literary personality Mrs Sivashankari, ‘Dravida Maya’ Subbu, Charu Nivedita, carnatic vocalist ‘Neyveli Santhanagopalan’, Editor of Organiser magazine Prafulla Ketkar, author Sandeep Balakrishna, among others.

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ISRO on the verge of acquiring land for second spaceport in Tamil Nadu, says Dr. Sivan

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The Commune
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isro defence satellite

In a significant development for India’s space aspirations, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan has said that land acquisition for the second spaceport has reached an advanced stage as both the Indian government and the Tamil Nadu government have keenly been working on.

The need for a second spaceport has been in the pipeline for a long time and when completed it will help India launch smaller rockets, such as India’s upcoming rocket the SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle), in an efficient and effective manner from Kulasekarapattinam in the Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) district.

Dr K Sivan, the former chairman of ISRO under whose leadership India accomplished the successful Mars Mission or Mangalyaan said that that 1,200 acres of land in Tamil Nadu have been acquired and handed over to the Indian space agency for the construction of the country’s second spaceport.

He revealed this information while presiding over a college convocation ceremony in Coimbatore and said, the second spaceport project required 2,233 acres of land and that the work was underway to acquire the remaining portion and hoped the remaining acquisition could be completed in about two months and construction work would commence.

Sivan said it is important to have a second spaceport because the launch site will be further down south from the existing one at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh and that will allow complex maneuver that rockets would have to undertake when launched from Sriharikota.

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CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury wants abrogation of Article 370 reversed, calls The Kashmir Files movie subversive

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The Commune
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The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) which has now become politically irrelevant has stated that it will continue to oppose the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

This call for support to renew Article 370 which is a racist law against Hindus and other minorities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was made by the CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday (March 24).

Yechury said“We stood with the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We will work for the realisation of the assurances provided in the Constitution to the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We had and continue to oppose the abrogation of Article 370, and our party has challenged the [J&K] Re-organization Act and new land laws in the Supreme Court,”.

The leader of the Communist Party and a known supporter of China said that his party believes in the safeguarding of the Indian Constitution and the secular democratic character of the Indian republic.

He added, “It is essential to isolate and defeat the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). We appeal to all secular forces to close ranks in order to save India for a better future,”.

According to Yechury the Bhartia Janata Party (BJP) has severely undermined the Indian Constitution and said the independence of constitutional institutions, including the Parliament, the judiciary, the Election Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), are under severe stress.

He also said that any claims made by the BJP government at the Centre on investments, development, and job avenues in J&K are false.

CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said, “These claims are a hoax and not a reality. The economy of J&K has virtually collapsed and employment opportunities are shrinking and immediately restoring constitutional rights and Statehood to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir”. “This unconstitutional and undemocratic decision has created a big political void and deep uncertainty in the region,”.

Sitaram. Yechury also demanded a commission be constituted “to check the facts on the ground to know who has suffered in the valley” and also took shots at the newly released movie, The Kashmir Files which showed the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus at the hands of Islamists and the lack of support from the government.

Yecjury had this to say about the movie: “A movie titled The Kashmir Files has been released with an aim to worsen the situation on the ground. People belonging to any religion or sect, including Muslims, Sikhs, and Kashmiri Pandits have suffered equally in Kashmir. One fails to understand why the role of the then Governor was not highlighted in the movie. His role should have also been highlighted,”.

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Tamil Nadu: Maulvi sexually abuses woman inside mosque under pretext of ‘driving away evil spirits’, allegedly bribes police to get away

By
The Commune
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In yet another incident of crime againt women in Tamil Nadu, a Muslim maulvi claiming to be an exorcist had sexually abused a woman inside a mosque under the pretext of driving away evil spirits.

Chinnaponnu is the wife of Sakthivel hailing from Thittakkudi near Virudhachalam in Cuddalore district. The 22-year-old woman has been having health issues for a long time.

The neighbours claimed that she might have been possessed by evil spirits. On their advice, Sakthivel along with other family members had taken his wife to the Jumma Mosque in Pennadam near Vriddhachalam.

Abdul Hani, a 54-year-old Muslim man claiming to be a sorcerer and an exorcist, had tied black threads on the hands of Sakthivel and other family members and asked them to wait outside while taking Chinnaponnu to a room inside the mosque.

A curious Sakthivel had peeped through the window to see how the maulvi was driving away the evil spirits. The maulvi reportedly took some incense sticks near the nose of the woman which made her unconscious following which he sexually abused her.

A shocked Sakthivel barged into the room to save his wife from the maulvi. He later went to the Pennadam police station to file a complaint. The police allegedly refused to file a case against the maulvi initially but later when the inspector of the station was informed that the victims belonged to the scheduled caste, a case was filed.

During interrogation, the police found that the statements made by the maulvi were incoherent. As per a report by Samayam Tamil, he later accepted to having committed the crime.

The victim reportedly told the police that she remembers only till the moment the maulvi grabbed her legs after which she fell unconscious.

While Polimer News reported that the police were taking steps to arrest the maulvi, the Tamil publication of Times of India has reported that the maulvi allegedly tried to bribe the police for getting released.

He reportedly told the police that his ‘business’ would go under loss if he were to be arrested as it would put his reputation of an ‘exorcist’ at stake.

Samayam Tamil reported that the police allegedly tried to strike a deal to let the maulvi go off. They reportedly received an acknowledment from the victim’s husband that nothing happened. For this, the Abdul Hani is said to have paid the victim’s husband and the police in lakhs.

The report by Samayam Tamil implies that the maulvi has been released after a compromised was reached by the affected parties.

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Violent Naxal and Maoist movement suffer another blow, 24 naxals surrender under ‘Puna Narkom’ initiative

By
The Commune
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Left-Wing Extremism Saw Significant Decline In 2024 As India Set Sights On Eradication By 2026 chhattisgarh maoist ceasefire

The Naxals movement suffered another blow when twenty-four Naxals, including 10 women, surrendered during a ‘Holi Milan’ programme in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.

The violent communist movement in the last few years have suffered a series of reversals as hundreds of its comrade have surrendered and many of its top leaders have either have been killed or captured. 

As per reports, the naxals who had surrendered to the police are all lower-rung militia members who were active in Kistaram area of the district and had turned themselves in at the newly set up police camp in Potakpalli village.

According to Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma who told PTI that they arrived at the camp accompanied by some 120 villagers and decided to surrender under the police’s ‘Puna Narkom’ (which means new dawn in Gondi) initiative to get the Maoists to renounce violence and return to the mainstream. 

Meanwhile, Union Home minister Amit Shah told the Indian upper house, the Rajya Sabha that there is dip of  77 per cent in Left-wing Extremism (LWE) since 2015.

Amit Shah said, “The steadfast implementation of the ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address Left-wing Extremism (LWE) – 2015′ has resulted in a consistent decline in violence,” the MHA told the Rajya Sabha recently. “The incidents of LWE violence have reduced by 77% from an all-time high of 2,258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021. Similarly, the resultant deaths (civilians + security forces) have reduced by 85% from an all-time high of 1,005 in 2010 to 147 in 2021,”.

He told the upper house that, “Joint efforts of the Centre and states in cracking down on Left-wing Extremism led by Prime Minister have yielded much success. In decades of fighting, we have reached a point where the death toll is less than 200 for the first time and this is a shared and great achievement for all of us,”.

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Construction of strategic road leading to China border in Lipulekh area in final stages

By
The Commune
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The Indian Border Road Organisation (BRO) on Tuesday (March 22) announced that the construction of the road leading to the China border in the Lipulekh area of Dharchula in Uttarakhand is in the final stages of completion.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in 2020 had inaugurated the construction of this crucial road for our army through virtual mode.

Colonel NK Sharma of the BRO told ANI, “The BRO is constantly focusing on last-mile connectivity. The road will reach the foothills of Kailash Mansarovar.”

Dharchula is a town in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and once this road is completed, it will allow a seamless movement of supplies for not only the military but it will also help the local population who have been deprived of basic infrastructure for decades.

In 2021, the BRO had reported that it has constructed 24 bridges and three roads in four states and two Union Territories, including the road construction in Dharchula that was badly affected due to the cloud-burst in 2021 resulting in the motorway connecting Dharchula to the China border in Uttarakhand was closed for 20 days due to damage.

This caused a lot of problems for the locals and the Army which has been on constant alert since the Chinese aggression began in Eastern Ladakh in 2020 and it became essential for supplies to reach the border quickly.

That is why in the last five years, the Central government has taken several decisions to improve connectivity and prioritise infrastructure development projects in the areas near the international borders.

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India achieves ambitious target of $400 billion of goods exports

By
The Commune
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India import export trump us tariffs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters as India has achieved the ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports 9 days ahead of schedule.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;

“India set an ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports & achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success.

This is a key milestone in our Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey. #LocalGoesGlobal”

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Global leaders, soil experts, celebs extend support to Sadhguru’s Save soil Movement

By
The Commune
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Sadhguru, one of India’s most influential spiritual leaders, kicked off the global #SaveSoil movement
from London on Monday. The 65-year-old Yogi is undertaking a 100-day motorcycle journey to raise
awareness and enact policy changes on soil extinction. Riding 30,000 kilometers through 27 countries,
Sadhguru will cross three continents to draw attention to the direst ecological concern of our
generation – rapid soil extinction.

As he kicked off the Movement, #JourneyForSoil became one of the top trends on Twitter with celebrities, global leaders and people from across the world coming out in support with heartfelt messages, wishing him a safe ride. Actors Santhanam, Ganesh Venkatraman, Rakul Preet Singh, Juhi Chawla, Lyricist Pa. Vijay and other various celebrities came out to express support for the campaign.

Actor Santhanam expressed his support for the campaign and said, “Sadhguru’s bike ride for the Save
Soil movement to raise awareness about rampant desertification is starting today! Over the next 100
days, Soil should become the most widely discussed topic on the planet. Wishing you a safe journey,
@SadhguruJV!”

Upbeat about the success of the campaign Lyricist Pa Vijay in a video message said, “I think the great
effort put forward by Sadhguru on the topic of Saving the Soil will make an impression on the people
of the world. Because soil is the source of man. This soil is the pinnacle of total humanity. The effort
taken with a great effort to protect this soil will surely go to people from all walks of life. I hope this
will lead to a great renaissance and soil revolution. So my regards and congratulations to this
movement. Thanks”

Expressing her support for the cause, Kiran Bedi, Former Lt Governor of Puducherry said, “I don’t
remember anyone in the recent history who has taken up ecological movements at this level!
@SadhguruJV, wishing you the best of health and well-being during the 100 days of your ride! We are
with you on this endeavour to #JourneyForSoil”

“Having signed MOUs with 6 countries to create policy changes to Save Soil, Sadhguru gets set to ride
across 27 Countries for 100 days at the age of 65! If that’s not epic don’t know what is! We r with you,
Sadhguru!” said actress Rakul Preet Singh in a heartfelt message.

Actor Mr. Ganesh Venkatram urged support for the campaign and said, “Let’s all come together to
support the ‘Savesoil’ movement & help create the much needed awareness! My Best wishes to
@Sadhgurujv ji as he begins his long bike journey on March 21st to create d much needed awareness
..Lets make this a peoples movement !”

Tony Robbins, author-life coach, in a video message, invited people to join the movement and said, “Healthy soil is vital for life. Let’s do this together and make a difference for this planet to be more conscious.”

Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, tweeted, “Save the Soil to
solve major problems faced by humanity”.

Apart from these, playback singers Karthik, Velmurugan, Mangali, Director Vasant, actress Juhi Chawla
and many others have expressed their support for the Save Soil movement.

The movement seeks to activate and demonstrate citizen support across nations, and empower governments to initiate policy-driven action to revitalize soil and halt further degradation. To enable this, the Movement will aim to reach 3.5 billion people – 60% of the world’s electorate. It is supported by various global bodies and agencies including the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Faith for Earth, a UNEP initiative; the World Food Programme (WFP); and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)

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Narco-terror still a problem, ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan remain stable

By
The Commune
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Pakistan drones

Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt told Rajya Sabha on Monday (March 21) that the military and security agencies along the western borders remain largely stable, however, narco-terror nexus sponsored by inimical elements across the border aimed at causing instability still is a threat to India.

“Security situation along Western Borders (IB Sector) remains largely stable. However, there are indications of an emerging narco-terror nexus sponsored by inimical elements across the border aimed at causing instability, especially along border areas. Our forces along Western borders are adequately poised to respond to any challenge posed by adversary across entire conflict spectrum,” he said.

The minister also told the Upper House in a written reply that the Line of Control (LoC) remains stable after the DGMOs (Director General Military Operations) of India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in February 2021.

On the situation at the Line of Control, the minister said, “The situation along Line of Control remains stable post the Directorate General of Military Operations (DGsMO) Understanding of February 2021. Both the Armies have exercised restraint in the interest of maintaining peace along the LC. However, the situation is being closely monitored and the Indian Army remains prepared to thwart any threat from inimical elements as also to respond in case of any escalation along the Line of Control,”.

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Christians convert Christians: Evangelical missionaries indulge in converting people fleeing war-ravaged Ukraine

By
The Commune
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As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, it has created a massive refugee crisis in Europe as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives, and Christian evangelical missionaries are targeting vulnerable Ukrainians who are predominantly orthodox, reports Mission Kaali.

Ben Lewis, chief international correspondent of Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is presumably reporting from the Ukraine-Poland border in a tweet said, “At the Ukraine/Poland border. Tired women and children leaving their country. They’re being pestered by American preachers telling them they all need to accept Jesus as their saviour and their lives will be better. Receiving a lot of eye rolls in response,”.

There are copious videos and photos of American missionaries preaching as tired and haggard Ukrainians are getting off the trains at the Poland-Ukrainian border. The conflict has created nearly 2 million refugees who have come into Poland.

Overall there are 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine to other border states, including Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.

However, missionary groups are trying to take advantage of this situation by asking them to convert instead of offering any real material help like food, clothing, medical care, and shelter. 

Franklin Graham son of Billy Braham who was perhaps the greatest evangelist in a recent article on Samaritan’s Purse said, “are deploying life-saving medical care to aid people who are suffering. We want to meet the needs of these families in their darkest moments while pointing them to the light and hope of Jesus Christ”.

It is a matter of Christians trying to convert Christians because the American Evangelical Missionaries do not consider the Orthodox sect or Roman Catholics as legitimate.

In a shameful but not surprising gesture the American missionary organisation, Awakening Europe, is offering empty faith healing, as boasted about on their Facebook page.

American journalist Josh Marshall who is the founder of TPM Media in a tweet said, “State Rep who wrote a plan to organize a mass killing of liberals to found a Christian theocracy in America just showed up in Poland with dozens of Ukrainian children he wants to bring to America for adoption,”.

The most concerning development coming out of the Russian invasion is of a former American state representative possibly trying to steal Ukrainian children and bring them to the USA.  Former Washington state representative Matt Shea has been in the town of Kazimerz Dolyny, in Poland.  He is with a group of Ukrainian children supposedly in different stages of the adoption process, supposedly on the behalf of a US nonprofit called “Loving Families and Homes For Orphans”.  

Matt Shea is reportedly involved in multiple domestic terror incidents in the US. The organization ‘Loving Families and Homes for Orphans’ also seems to be a problematic organization as it was registered in Florida just a month ago.

(With inputs from Mission Kaali)

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TheCommune
The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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